Table: "Population Distribution of Major Beliefs "; "Figures have been compiled from the most accurate recent available information and are in most cases correct to the nearest 1% "; Protestant "includes all non-Roman Catholic denominations "

"Since the Korean War, Protestant churches have experienced such phenomenal growth that today there are 70 denominations in Korea. The year 1985 was the centennial of Protestantism in Korea and more than 20 denominations and 24 organizations set up a Council for the 100th Anniversary of the Korean Church to plan various programs in memory of church pioneers and to bring the Protestant churches together as one church. "

"Shamanism underwent a revival during the 1980s and a national Shaman-association registered 70,000 due paying members in the mid 80s. Chun Do Hwan, the Korean president during 1980-1988 stressed the preservation of ancient cultural traditions. "

"If one could peer into the souls of Korean people, one would find fascinating elements of shamanism, the folk worship of a pantheon of household, village and animate and inanimate forces of nature. Koreans, like other Asians, maintain ancient traditions such as the kut, or exorcising ceremonies. These practices have not been fully institutionalized into a religion, but shamanism has been kept very much alive in Korea--as in the deification of Sanshin, a non-Buddhist mountain god, who has found his way into special shrines located within the courtyards of Buddhist temple complexes. "

Soka Gakkai

Korea, South

-

-

-

-

1965

Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 415.

"After normalization of relations with Japan in the 1960s, some Japanese movements entered Korea, notably Tenri-kyo and Soka Gakkai. "

Taejonggyo

Korea, South

-

-

-

-

1981

Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 415.

"At Sindo-an village in the foothills of Keiryong Mountain near Taejon, a number of indigenous sects have their center. This is popularly regarded as the site of the future capital of the country, under a leader of the Chong family, as foretold in a sixteenth century messianic text, the Chonggam-nok. "

"Korea's oldest religion, other than nature worship, is Taejonggyo. Called Koshindo until the early 20th century, it embodies a myth of national foundation comparable to other nations. There are few adherents of this belief today, but it has obviously influenced later religious developments... By the 15th century, this cult had practically disappeared. However, the resurgence of Korean nationalism and a spirit of independence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries led to the appearance of several sects claiming to represent a revival of this ancient cult. "

Tangun

Korea, South

-

-

-

-

1945

Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 415.

"The veneration of Tangun as center of a national cult was promoted by Na Ch'ol (1864-1916), but it could not operate freely in the Japanese era. After 1945 it was revived and regional centers of worship were built, but the religion lacked popular appeal. "

"Daoism has been practiced in Korea for more than 1,300 years, but active examples of its presence ar rare these days. Though Daoist texts were often studied in thepast, and though some of Korea's Buddhist temples temporarily served as Doist temples, few remnants of early Daoist art survive today. Daoism achieved its greatest height in Korea during the Unified Silla dynasty (AD 668-918). Practitioners aren't so dedicated today, but Daoism is experiencing something of a renaissance as a number of modern schools draw on its teachings. "

Tenrikyo

Korea, South

-

-

-

-

1965

Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 415.

"After normalization of relations with Japan in the 1960s, some Japanese movements entered Korea, notably Tenri-kyo and Soka Gakkai. "

"UNIFICATION CHURCH... which gained much publicity in the 1970s. The full name of the movement is The Holy Spirit Association for The Unification of World Christianity, and was founded in 1954 by an engineer Sun Myung MOON. "

Unification Church

Korea, South

-

-

-

-

1981

Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 415.

"A number of groups have arisen under Protestant influence. The best known outside of Korea is the Unification Church. "

Unification Church

Korea, South

-

-

-

-

1981

Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 493.

"Moon, Sun Myung... leder of the Unification Church. Born in northern Korea, Moon was for a time affiliated with the Presbyterian church. "

"About 500,000 Koreans belong to a wide variety of 'minor' religions. The most well-known internationally is the Unification Church, a movement started by Moon Sun-myung, a North Korean refugee, in 1954. "

directory: "1996-1997 International Study Group Directory for readers of The Urantia Book "

Won Buddhism

Korea, South

800,000

-

-

-

1981

Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 414-415.

"Won Buddhism. In 1916 Pak Chungbin (1891-1943) became enlightened and founded in southwest Korea a new movement based on the completeness of the Dharmakaya and on Buddha as the Absolute. It is called Won (complete) Buddhism. Stressing a correct understanding of grace, activity in spreading Buddhist teaching, and selfless service to others, the movement is perhaps the most lively form of Buddhism in South Korea today, with 800,000 members. "

"Won Buddhism - Kor. won, lit. 'circular'; modern Buddhist folk movement in South Korea, founded by Soe-tae San (1891-1943)... The followers... are active in social and charitable work. In the postwar years they established numerous kindergartens, schools, and universities... Today Won Buddhism has many followers. "

Won Buddhism

Korea, South

140,000

-

-

-

1996

1997 Britannica Book of the Year. Pg. 781-783.

Table; Listed in table as "Wonbulgyo "; [ "Won Buddhism " is another name for "Wonbulgyo "]

Table: "Status of Religions " (as of 1983); 3 columns: "churches ", "clergymen ", "followers "; presumably this is from a government survey or census.; Listed in table as "Wonbulgyo "

Yoido Full Gospel Church

Korea, South

5

-

-

-

1958

Cox, Harvey. Fire from Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the Twenty-First Century; New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. (1994), 221.

"...Yoido Full Gospel (Pentecostal) Church. As we noted, the Yoido congregation is a megachurch. Its 800,000 membership makes it the largest congregation in the world. With an initial membership of 5 in 1958... "

Yoido Full Gospel Church

Korea, South

2,000

-

-

-

1963

Cox, Harvey. Fire from Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the Twenty-First Century; New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. (1994), 222.

"In 1963, within 5 years of its founding, the church had 2,000 members. Each became a dedicated messenger and recruiter, bringing others into the ever enlarging fold. "

Yoido Full Gospel Church

Korea, South

15,000

-

-

-

1971

Cox, Harvey. Fire from Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the Twenty-First Century; New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. (1994), 222.

"By 1971 there were 15,000 members; by 1981 there were 200,000. The congregation now lists over 800,000, most of whom take part in small face-to-face prayer and study groups in addition to the plenary gathering in the church's massive temple. "

Yoido Full Gospel Church

Korea, South

800,000

-

-

-

1994

Cox, Harvey. Fire from Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the Twenty-First Century; New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. (1994), 221.

"...Yoido Full Gospel (Pentecostal) Church. As we noted, the Yoido congregation is a megachurch. Its 800,000 membership makes it the largest congregation in the world. "

Yoido Full Gospel Church

Korea, South

800,000

-

-

-

1994

Cox, Harvey. Fire from Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the Twenty-First Century; New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. (1994), last page of center photo section.

"Dr. David Yonggi Cho... leads the Yoido Full Gospel (Pentecostal) Church in Seoul, Korea. Its 800,000 members make it the largest single Christian congregation anywhere in the world. "

Home Churches: members feel obligation to "be concerned for the 360 families [of non-Unificationists] in his immediate neighborhood. "; "They reported also that in the fall of 1981 there were 230 home churches in the city of Seoul alone, and that similar home churches had been set up all over the Republic of Korea... Our assumption has to be that the 230 home churches in the city are promoted by individuals (or married couples) who regularly attend services at the [30 Unification] centeres. "

"Many Unificationists in the city of Seoul are not yet personally committed to the Home Church movement. As a matter of current practice they attend religious services on Sundays -- and sometimes on Wednesday evenings -- at any one of the 30 Unification centers... "

"Kosova is situated in the southern territory of former Yugoslavia and borders with Serbia, Albania, Montenegro and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The capital is Pristina. Area: 10,887 km2. The population is around 2 million of whom about 90% are Albanians. The remaining 10% include Serb and Muslims, Montenegrins, Turks, Croats and Gypsies. The Albanians in Kosova are descendants of the ancient Illyrian tribe of the Dardanians, who lived in Kosova from ancient times. Serbian attachment to Kosova originates in the Middle Ages, when Kosova was the 'cradle' of the Serb and of its Serbian Orthodox Church. "

"According to Orthodox officials, 1,300 churches and monasteries are scattered throughout Kosovo, some of them from the 13th century, well before the Turks brought Islam to the Balkans. The attacks against the Orthodox churches strike at this legacy, and at the very roots of the Serb presence in Kosovo. Some of the churches have been looted and burned. Others, like the churches in Musutiste, have been demolished with explosives, suggesting to some the motive is not simple revenge but a systematic effort to drive Serbs from Kosovo. The oldest and most prized Orthodox sites, celebrated for their old frescoes and impressive architecture, have thus far been spared, largely because of NATO's protection. "

"In Pec, a city 40 miles from Musutiste, the Serbs burned all 34 mosques, according to the Kosovo Islamic community. These included the Qarshise Mosque, built in 1471 and one of the oldest of its kind in Kosovo... The violence in Kosovo is not a religious war, but religion has sharpened the conflict. Most ethnic Albanians in Kosovo are Muslim, whereas the Serbs are Orthodox Christian. This difference has made religious institutions a natural target as Serbs, and now Albanians, have tried to sever the other group's ties to the province. According to the Islamic community of Kosovo, 187 mosques were burned or damaged by explosives between March 1998 and this past June, when Serb forces withdrew from Kosovo... Clergy, too, have been caught up in the violence. Muslim leaders say 30 members of the clergy and religion students were killed this spring. Three others are missing, while 10 languish in Serbian prisons. "

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